In Keansburg, the election is uncontested. James Cocuzza Sr will be elected to his fourth four year term on the borough council. Judy Ferraro will be elected to her first term on the governing body.

Long Branch is contested. Voters in The Friendly City will elect a mayor and an entire five member City Council.

Incumbent Mayor Adam Schneider is seeking his eighth term leading the city. He is running with incumbent council members Joy Bastelli, Kate Billings and Michael Sirianni. Rounding out the Schneider Team are newcomers Diana Dos Santos and Adam Ponzi.

Councilman John Pallone, brother of Congressman Frank Pallone, is challenging Schneider after serving in his administration for the last eight years, in a rematch of their 1994 contest which Schneider won by 10%. Running with Pallone are incumbent councilwoman Mary Jane Celli and newcomers Lorenzo “Bill” Dangler, Rose M. Widdis, Mario R. Vieira and Anita Voogt.

School Board Member Avery Grant is running for mayor with just two running mates, Edward Anastasio and Dennis Mikolay.

Schneider and Grant interviewed with MMM. Pallone, who skipped the first two scheduled candidates debates and has avoided questions from the media, did not respond to our request for an interview, so we took matters into our own hands.